Summary:
- ETH and Stablecoins running on Ethereum settled over $1.6 Trillion in 2020
- The three major stablecoins driving transaction volume on Ethereum are Tether (USDT), USDC and DAI
- Stablecoins are a bridge between traditional finance and crypto markets
ETH, together with stablecoins running on the Ethereum network settled over $1.6 Trillion in transactions last year. This is according to a report by the team at Consensys who also pointed out that the majority of the stablecoin transactions on Ethereum were carried out via Tether (USDT), USD Coin (USDC) and DAI.
They shared their analysis of Ethereum and stablecoins via the following statement.
The three largest stablecoins, USDT, USDC, and DAI have seen such a rise in use in 2020 that they are now responsible for more trade volume on Ethereum than the asset that pays for computation — ether (ETH) — itself.
The annual transaction volume for ETH this year was $385 billion, but Tether’s USDT token settled $580 billion on Ethereum, Circle’s USDC stablecoin settled $239 billion on Ethereum, and MakerDAO’s DAI stablecoin settled $98 billion. All told, nearly $1.6 trillion USD in stablecoins and ETH transacted on Ethereum in 2020.
Stablecoins: A Bridge Between Traditional Finance and Crypto
Furthermore, the report went on to explain that stablecoins were a vital bridge between traditional finance and the crypto markets. Stablecoins are at the core of activities such as borrowing and lending with crypto derivatives products using them as a base value.
Additionally, some savvy individuals are using stablecoins to hedge against local currencies losing value. The report gives an example of individuals in Brazil using USD pegged stablecoins as an alternative to their local Brazilian real.
Governments Working to Regulate Stablecoins or Issue their Own
In terms of regulation, the team at Consensys highlighted that the rise of stablecoins has led several governments to consider ways of drafting laws that allow their existence in an acceptable environment. The same governments, through their respect Central Banks, are also exploring ways of issuing their very own digital currencies on the various smart contract platforms.
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